Uber Rating – The 5 Star System
Last week I had the privilege to attend Schnizzfest 2018 ( www.schnizzfest.com ). This is my favorite event of the year; hundreds of IT service providers gather for the two and a half day event and I am fortunate to be able to learn from and share with the members. The opportunity to present at the event and meet with the members in groups and individually is an honor. Each year I come away with enough notes and action items that will keep me busy for weeks.
All of the attendees are asked to complete a survey after the event is over and rate every session and the event overall. The entire Schnizzfest team anxiously awaits the summary of the surveys and to see how we performed. As I was reviewing the ratings this year, I was struck by the thought that I expected all 5’s (the grading scale was 1 poor – 5 awesome) and anything less than a 5 would be a disappointment. This got me thinking about rating systems and how we use the information to gain meaningful feedback.
Think of Uber. When you have completed a trip, you are asked to rate the driver from 1 to 5 stars. It took me a while, but this is what I found on their website…
“UNDERSTANDING RATINGS
Having trouble choosing a rating for your driver? Here are a few tips:
– Most riders provide a 5-Star rating unless there was a specific issue with the trip
– If we see a 1-Star rating, it typically means that there is a serious problem with a driver”
A ride with no issues is 5 stars. Everyone wants the 5 star rating. But what if you want to know who is better than “there were no issues”? In this system, good is 5 stars and everything else is sub-par.
Back to the Schnizzfest surveys. I really wanted to figure out really how we did (the overall event was 4.74, my presentations were 4.51 – 4.78), but with a loose rating legend it was hard to tell. Next year I will suggest we might try a different legend…
5 – Holy Cow! Way beyond expectations – inspired and motivated
4 – Wow! Exceeded expectations – great stuff, thought provoking and takeaways
3 – Very Good – Met expectations – lots to think about
2 – OK – Some good points – a few takeaways
1 – This wasn’t for me – didn’t apply or no takeaways
So, many of you use rating systems for getting feedback on your operations. Maybe it is time to go back and review your rating legend and educate the constituents on how to rate the experience. Are you getting the feedback you need to really understand how you are doing?
Feedback is a precious opportunity – we don’t learn from our experiences, we learn from reflecting on them.
What I’m reading…
Measure What Matters by John Doerr Amazon Link